INFORMATION SHEET

INTRODUCTION TO WASTEWATER: NATURE, SOURCES OF GENERATION AND TREATMENT

WITH A FOCUS ON SEWAGE

NOT ENSURING THAT OUR PLANET’S VITAL ELEMENTS AND MECHANISMS ARE MAINTAINED AND FREE OF
CONTAMINATION IS EQUIVALENT TO DELIBERATELY COMMITTING SUICIDE, KILLING A GREAT NUMBER OF LIFE-
FORMS IN THE PROCESS, INCLUDING HUMAN BEINGS.
I N T E R N A T I O N A L

SOURCES AND TYPES OF WATER CONTAMINATION

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS

One drop of oil can make up to 25 liters of water unfit for drinking. *

NON-ORGANIC ORGANIC
(Chemical Products, plastics, …), (Faeces, urine)
= =
RECYCLING when possible ENERGY + NUTRIENTS
(Food for plants)
 

● Industrial Wastewater 99.99% ● Sewage: Human

Wastewater which comes from industrial
WATER domestic wastewater
processes using various chemical
components (factories, mining water, Wastewater that comes from human
G A R D E N

some intensive agricultural based primary necessity activities (bodily

industries and processing plants such as excreta, cooking, washing and cleaning); it
0.01% mainly contains nitrogenous compounds
WITH

rubber factories, palm oil, coconut oil,

and other crops; contains a wide range contaminating (proteins and urea), carbohydrates
of contaminants and chemical SOLIDS (sugars, starches and cellulose) and fats
compounds that may each require (soap, cooking oil and greases). Intense
cooking activities as in a restaurant for
WASTEWATER TREATMENT

specific . treatment.
example creates a type of water high in
grease content which should have its own
In One gram of 2,4-D (a common household herbicide) can treatment before being mixed with sewage
contaminate ten million litres of drinking water. * effluent (if at all). What is important to
● understand is the value of these so-called
“waste” materials for the plant kingdom.
W A S T E W A T E R

Storm Water Water from the toilet contains many

potentially disease-causing bacteria but

the
● Surface Runoff
Wastewater of particular concern in urban
environments: street litter, debris of
household or commercial litter, lawn and
garden litter, leaves, abrasives and
chemicals used for various domestic tasks,
oil and grease from motor vehicles.
machinery and maintenance use,
pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers, etc. .).
It is often mixed with Storm Water, when
not with Industrial, Commercial and
Sewage wastewaters as is the case in
many large urban sewage systems.
One gram of PCBs can make up to one billion litres of water unsuitable for
freshwater aquatic life. *
ter which comes from using water
in an* : Reference:
industrial process
Canadian (factories,
government: Environment Canada : http://www.ec.gc.ca
mining water, some intensive
agricultural based industries and
processing plants such as rubber
Water which comes from the
rain which has had contact with
also higher levels of nutrients and is called
blackwater. Water from the sink or
the ground surface. It can be shower usually contains fewer bacteria
close to clean water quality but and a lower amount of nutrients and is
can also be heavily called greywater.
contaminated, with sewage and
organic and/or non-organic
wastewaters if these mix with
surface runoff water.
● Agricultural industry
+ Animal farming
Wastewater which comes from all animal raising,
maintenance and/or processing (production units): dairy
farms, cattle ranches, sheep and goat farms, piggeries,
duck and snake farms, seafood aquaculture, chicken
batteries or hatcheries as well as birds such as
ostriches, quails, etc. . Depending on the kind of activity
and level of processing, it requires specific treatment or
disposal.
1. What are the effects of untreated wastewater?
Untreated wastewater is the greatest cause in the world of the dispersion of disease-causing bacteria and the
pollution of groundwater, rivers, lakes and other water bodies, disrupting ecosystems and creating a chain
reaction of negative effects. In so-called developing countries, 85–95% of sewage is discharged directly into
rivers, lakes, and coastal areas (UNFPA 2001; Bouwman et al. 2005), some of which are also used for water
supply and bathing. Consequently, water-related diseases, such as diarrhea, cholera and amoebic dysentery,
among others, claim millions of lives annually (WHO/UNICEF 2000). Because of these dangers, wastewater is
often thought of as a “toxic” or unusable “waste” material. However, with an understanding of the materials in
wastewater and the natural processes that purify them, wastewater can become a valuable resource.

Death of fish (here in 2007, China)

ABOVE: Plastic in the ocean is increasingly found

in the stomachs of Albatrosses. BELOW: plastic
Marine pollution hotspots caused by sewage in South-East pellets in zooplankton, the base of the ocean’s
Asia (Courtesy: OVERVIEW OF IMPACT OF SEWAGE ON THE food chain (Courtesy Captain C. Moore “Seas of
MARINE ENVIRONMENT OF EAST ASIA: SOCIAL AND plastic”).
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, Chia Lin Sien, Institute of Asia-
Pacific Studies, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Japan.
Assisted by George S. Akpan, Lloyd C. Onyirimba and Maribel B.
Aguilos, UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME,
EAST ASIAN SEAS REGIONAL COORDINATING UNIT, 2001). EUTROPHIZATION

Excessive nutrients
causing proliferation of
aquatic vegetation) and
causing « Dead» zones:
Top Photo: USA. in the
Golf of Mexico, 2004
(Credit: SeaWiFS Project,
NASA Goddard, et
Orbimage) and Lake
Champlain.
Bottom photo : Tijuana
Mexico
Above: Application of improperly treated sludge is
Exposure to acid water and toxic held responsible for the dramatic spread of prions
heavy metals associated with disturbed acid sulfate acting as transmissible agents of fatal Alzheimer's
soils cause infections such as Epizooitic Ulcerative Disease (AD) and Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD) in
Syndrome (EUS) also known as ‘red-spot' disease). humans, as well as scapie in sheep and goat and Mad
Here a woman with heavy metal poisoning from Cow Disease (BSE), (Courtesy: Vernon Blogspot, 2010).
repeated exposure to contaminated water,
Philippines.

Ranking of Globally Significant Water Quality Issues Affecting the Provision of Freshwater Services for Water Resource End Uses.
Underlined in red: Typical pollution caused by Sewage
Dotted underlined: Excessive Nitrates and Eutrophication are also caused by sewage although important source of these pollutions are also agricultural
run-offs. Courtesy: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (Content Source); Leszek Bledzki (Topic Editor) "Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Volume 1: Current State and Trends:
Freshwater Ecosystem Services". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the
Environment), http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecosystems_and_Human_Well-Being:_Volume_1:_Current_State_and_Trends:_Freshwater_Ecosystem_Services.

INFORMATION SHEET
WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE, NATURE AND TREATMENT FRAMEWORK - PAGE 2
2. What is Sewage? Water mixed with excreta, in particular faeces

BASIC FACTS ABOUT EXCRETA - URINE + FAECES = NUTRIENTS

NOTE: presented numbers are indicative averages as there can be important variations from country to
country or within a country, depending on type of diet and amount of liquids drunk every day.

Humans excrete on
average sufficient Modified drawing from
amounts of nitrogen, Liquid Gold, The Lore
phosphorous and EXCRETA and Logic of Using Urine
to Grow Plants, Carol
potassium as plant Steinfeld, Green Frigate
nutrients to grow URINE FAECES Books, Sheffield,
the 250 kg of crops 3-5 times / day 1-2 times / day Vermont ("Urine love", a
1.03 Litres / day (Vegetarian diet) 400 Grams / day (Vegetarian diet) cartoon from Anorve's
they need annually book "Psicoanalysis de la
1.5 Litres / day (Protein rich diet) 140 Grams / day (Protein rich diet)
(Dangert, 1998). Zurrada").
QUANTITY URINE FAECES (Wet weight)
PER DAY Note:
Minim Max Average Unit Minim Max Average Unit
(Source: WHO, 1992) Children produce
Protein Rich Diet 1.35 Liter/Day 140 Grams/Day approximately half
1.5 130 150 as much urine as
Temperate Climate: 492.75 Kg/Year 51.1 Kg/year
adults.
Vegetarian, Tropical 1.03 Liter/Day 400 g/pers/d
climate: 375.95 Kg/Year 146 Kg/Year
QUANTITY WET: > 376 Liters <580 Liters WET: >51 Kg <190 Kg
PER YEAR (93-96% water content) (70-85% water content)
URINE FAECES Average
Average
TOTAL
PRINCIPAL
Minim Max Average Unit Minim Max Average Unit NUTRIENT
NUTRIENTS
PRODUCTION
13 g/pers/day 1.4 g/pers/d 14.4 grams/d
Nitrogen - N 11 15 1.3 1.5
4.74 Kg/Year 0.51 Kg/Year 5.25 Kg/year
1 g/pers/day 0. 52 g/pers/d 1.52 grams/d
Phosphorus - P 0.9 1.09 0.5 0.55
0.365 Kg/Year 0.19 Kg/Year 0.55 Kg/year
2.3 g/pers/day 0.82 g/pers/d 3.12 grams/d
Potassium - K
0.84 Kg/Year 0.3 Kg/Year 1.13 Kg/year
Sources:
- World Health Organization, 1992.
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GTZ).
- Composition of urine, faeces, greywater and biowaste for utilisation in the URWARE model, HŒkan Jšnsson, Andras Baky, Ulf Jeppsson,
Daniel Hellstršm and Erik KŠrrman, Dept. of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation, Lund University, Sweden.
- (Wolgast, 1993), abstract from Human excreta for plant production, Helvi Heinonen-Tanski a,*, Christine van Wijk-Sijbesma b - a/ Department of
Environmental Sciences, University of Kuopio, Finland - b/ IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre.
- (Dangert, 1998), abstract from Source Separation Technique for Recovery of Nutrients from Human Excreta, Kunwar Durg Vijay Singh Yadav,
presentation at the World Toilet Summit, New Delhi, India, 2007.

INFORMATION SHEET
WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE, NATURE AND TREATMENT FRAMEWORK - PAGE 3
-

3. Typical quantities of domestic wastewater per person per day in liters

Average quantities per day Type of Toilets Average quantities of water per day / per Year
(World Health Organization -
WHO), 1992 Squat toilets = 7 - 20 Liters/day = 2.5 – 7.3 Tons/year
Bucket

Squat toilets = 60 - 100 Liters/day = 21.9 – 36.5 Tons/year

BLACK WATER

URINE FAECES Flush

: + /- 5 t im e s /d a y

* Depends on the size of the flush tank

Liter/Day Grams/day
Flush = 30 (6L/flush) - 150 Liters/day = 11 – 54.7 Tons/year
TOILETS

Protein Rich Diet,

Temperate Climate 1.2 140 toilets * Since the year 2000 +/- average tanks: ≤ 6 L/flush
Liter
Vegetarian Diet, 1. Dual Flush 1. = 17 - 20 Liters/day = 6.2 – 7.3 Tons/year
:

Tropical Climate
s/
1.03 400
day Toilets 2. = 3.7 – 6.5 Liters/day = 1.35 – 2.37 Tons/year
2. Dual Flush
Urine Diverting . = 2 - 3 Liters / flush . = 6 Liters / flush
toilets (UDT) . = 0.3 – 1 Liters/flush . = 2.5 liters / flush

Note: As best ecological practice, water is not mixed with excreta (or in minimal quantity as for anal cleansing where it is a cultural practice).
Flush toilets are a most wasteful use of water which is often of good and drinking quality. An average 6 Liters per flush toilets results in
11 Tons of water used yearly just for the purpose of transporting 427 to 770 Kilograms excreta (faeces + urine ) or 1 Ton of water to
move 39 Kg to 70 Kg excreta. Sewage is furthermore a high disperser of pathogens into the environment, increasing the sizing and
costing of required treatment while faeces and urine are extremely valuable, rich and nutritive substances for soils and plants (the
quantity of nutrients each human generates per year is enough to grow his/her necessary food during one year).

= 30 - 120 Liters/day for 1 shower of 3 min = 10.9 – 43.8 Tons/year

10-40* average liters per minute, depending on shower head
Shower
* Old shower head – Flow reductor showerhead: 5 – 8 Liters/minute
- Average shower time: 3 – 7 minutes
BATHING
HYGIENE

Bath = 50 - 230 Liters/use - Depending on the size of the bathtub = 18.2 – 84 Tons/year

= 20 Liter/day on average = 7.3 Tons/year

Hand and teeth washing: 10 – 40 Liters (Tap running or not – 3.5 – 14.6 Tons/year
GREY WATER

Lavabo (Hands only: 2 – 4 Liters – 8 L running water = 0.7 – 2.9 Tons/year)

(Teeth only: 8 – 12 Liters – 40 Liters with running water – 2.9 – 14.6 Tons/year)
(Shaving: 8-19 Liter - 76 Liters with running water = 2.9 – 27.7 Tons/year)
Bucket
shower = 10 - 20 Liters/Day = 3.6 – 7.3 Tons/year
& DISH W ASH IN G

Dishwashing = 10 - 20 Liters/day average = 3.6 – 7.3 Tons/year

Hand 150 Liters with running water = 54.7 Tons/year
COOKING

Dishwashing = 15 - 150 Liters/load = 5.4 – 54.7 Tons/year

Machine Depending on the kind of machine

Food = 3 - 10 Liters/day = 1 – 3.6 Tons/year

preparation

Clothe = 10 - 20 Liters/day/Person – 3.6 – 7.3 Tons/year for 1 wash/day

WASHING

washing by
CLOTHE

- Depends on how many people's clothes are being washed at once

hand
= 15 - 50 - 250 Liters/load = 5.4 - 18.2 – 91.2 Tons/year for 1 wash/day
Clothe - Industrial machines can go up to 350 Liters / Use
Washing * The European Union has established a norm of 50L which is now becoming
machine
international with even lower water consumption machines being produced.

Minimum vital amount of water required: 7.5 Liters/Per person/Per day: taking into account the needs of lactating women *
Water for emergency relief: 15 Liters/Per person/Per day: key indicator in meeting minimum standards for disaster relief (SPHERE, 1998) *
* Source: WHO 2003 "Domestic Water Quantity, Service, Level and Health"

INFORMATION SHEET
WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE, NATURE AND TREATMENT FRAMEWORK - PAGE 4
 4. Types of Toilets
WASHER or WIPER?
"WIPERS": People who clean themselves with paper or leaves "WASHERS": People who clean themselves with water
In most Asian and S. East Asian countries as well as in India and in Muslim countries, the majority are washers, whereas in the majority of African (except north-
Africa) countries, in Europe, USA, Australia and S. America, people are wipers.

In nature Toilets Toilets

(Open defecation) With water: FLUSH toilets No or little water: DRY toilets

3 to 150 Liters water/person/day

40% +/- of the world *7-20 L is for bucket squat system
population ( > 7 Billion in No water used *
1 person with an average flush toilet of 6L/flush will spend
2011) practices open * Except for anal cleansing
an average of 11,000 liters of water or 11 Tons/year for the
defecation by lack of toilets in some countries
sole purpose of moving 427 to 770 Kilograms of excreta
(UNICEF)

Wiping with leaves, soil, Urine + Faeces Urine + Faeces Urine + Faeces
Urine + Faeces MIXED
paper, sand, water, … NOT MIXED MIXED NOT MIXED

Drawing above from l Full flush toilets l Urine Diverting l Compost toilets l Urine Diverting
"The Schools Water Portal" l Pour flush toilets Toilets (UDTs) Dry Toilets
http://www.schools.indiawaterportal.org (bucket system) (UDDTs)
l Dual-flush toilets

Squat toilet

Sitting bowl
"European Style" Anal
toilet cleaning
water
Nigeria Health Journal, News for the URINE FAECES
sake of your health, Faeces
http://www.nigerianhealthjournal.com Dual-Flush
Toilet Urine
Urine Diversion
Toilets (UDTs) Urine Dry Diversion
permit to Toilets (UDDTs) permit
recuperate the to use urine for plant
urine and use it for growth with minimal
Pre-fabricated
plant growth. maintenance and the
Japanese compost toilet
Protopooping at Avani, Oct. 2011. faeces for composting
toilets and enriching the soil.
http://panchands.blogspot.com

STATE OF EXCRETA ACCORDING TO TYPE OF TOILET AND EVENTUAL REUSE

Urine storage, transfer and reuse

Urine storage, transfer and

reuse is the same as in UDT (except that the urine should be diluted for reuse).
Quantity of Faeces Below: urine and faeces chambers for apartment
of 4 permanent complexes, with secondary faeces composting (right)
residents Right photo: Compost chamber +Irrigation with urine

URINE STORAGE
+ 3 part-time worker
after 1.5 years
INFORMATION SHEET
WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE, NATURE AND TREATMENT FRAMEWORK - PAGE 5
5. Typical wastewater treatment framework

Regulations vary greatly from country to country and even within a country sometimes, but all steps towards
proper wastewater treatment have now been universally recognized as consisting minimally of two treatment
stages, called "Primary Treatment" and "Secondary Treatment", regardless whether Sewage Treatment Plants
(STPs) are centralized or decentralized and what technologies or ecotechnologies are used, sustainable or non-
sustainable.
As sewage treatment is considered expensive, many areas still have only primary treatment, if at all. Nonetheless
good practice dictates at least a secondary treatment before sewage effluent reuse or disposal into the
environment; in sensitive environment, tertiary treatment must be applied as well.
Depending on the techniques used during treatment, each of these steps can take place within a single system or
through a succession of systems, use a process heavily reliant on electricity and power supply, with complex
technologies and chemical products or use more natural and passive systems such as constructed wetlands, or a
combination of both.
Note: New technologies currently in development enable sewage to be transformed into drinking water by
condensation; the energetic and monetary cost are still an impediment however and further economy of scale is
necessary, while it could be argued that using the nutrients in sewage effluent, water conservation and/or the use
of dry toilets are a much more sensible and economical approach.

PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY

TREATMENT TREATMENT TREATMENT
OR ADVANCED
TREATMENT
Separation of the Biological treatment of
solids from the the water to remove
liquids nutrients and dissolved Only obligatory in
solids. some cases: if the
(Mechanical process)
In the process, additional water is to be
sludge may be produced reused for direct
+
(especially for large scale human contact
treatment). and/or
Treatment of the
consumption, for
solids / sludge Note: For small-scale water disposal into
treatment, numerous pre-
highly fragile
fabricated compact systems
combine Primary and ecosystems or for
Secondary Treatment ground water
recharge.
WATER
SOLIDS
S
This movement between primary
and secondary treatment happens
principally in centralised
conventional sewage treatment
plants (STPs)

SOLIDS
Organic + Non-organic
Composting Incineration
= Reuse
Or Disposal in Landfills
Note: For individual or small-scale
systems using compact and 2 or
multiple chambers septic tanks,
solids are pumped out and
brought to a centralized ST Plant.
TREATED EFFLUENTS *
Drainage, Disposal or reuse
While for small systems treated water is generally disposed
of in drain fields, for medium to large scale Sewage
Treatment Plants, in the great majority of cases, the water
is being reversed in a water way (estuary, river or ocean).
In some cases water is reused in agriculture.
* In the majority of countries sewage is still disposed of
in water ways without any treatment or
with the primary stage only.

River or Ocean

INFORMATION SHEET
WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE, NATURE AND TREATMENT FRAMEWORK - PAGE 6
6. Terminology

Terminology Sewage: is the name given to the mixture of solids with water. Strictly speaking it only
includes solids of organic origin (faeces mixed or not with urine as the base material) but is
sometimes also used to describe wastewater in general whether it is heavily contaminated
with chemicals or with organic or non-organic material.
Sludge: is the more solid part of wastewater (still wet) and will often be viscous and is either of organic, chemical and/or mixed
effluent origins.
Effluent or Wastewater: is the liquid part of contaminated water. Depending on the generating activity, the water is contaminated
with organic sludge (as with sewage) and/or with chemical sludge.
Black Water: is organic contaminated water mixed with excreta (faeces, with or without urine). In decentralized on-site treatment,
kitchen water is sometimes included in the black water for treatment.
Grey Water: is wastewater that hasn't been contaminated with faeces; it generally includes wastewater from shower, bath, laundry
and sometimes kitchen water. This kind of water doesn’t justify as complete a treatment as Black Water does as it doesn't hold
nearly as many potential pathogens as is contained in Black Water. It is still often mixed with black water although both kinds of
water are increasingly being separated, in particular for medium to large-scale projects (in some countries legislation obliges to do so
for projects above 100 +/- residents/guests).

Proper treatment of household sewage according to international standards and most

Sewage treatment countries' legal requirements consists of 2 principal phases in the majority of cases, and 3
stages if you are in a highly sensitive ecological zone. What is required by these standards
however concerns only the liquid / effluent part of the sewage. In the majority of cases, it is expected that the solids will be removed
and transferred to a specialized facility (usually a governmental owned sewage treatment plant - STP) which will either further treat it,
dispose of it, burn it, landfill the ashes or compost it to reuse – some systems will enable on-site treatment and reuse (faecal bags for
subsequent composting, vermicomposting).
Treatment can be centralized, decentralized, or a mixture of both as shown previously. Technologies can either integrate a
productive use of the wastewater (constructed wetlands, vermicompost, polishing stage in agriculture), be neutral (passively aerated
and evaporation ponds, multi-chambers septic tanks) or be highly energy and technological complexity-dependent (compact systems
requiring electricity and/or chlorine for small-scale applications, activated sludge, aerated lagoons, membrane bioreactors,
chlorinators, Ultra violet treatment, etc. for large scale applications).

PRINCIPAL
TREATMENT PHASES

1. PRIMARY TREATMENT Consists of separating the solids from the liquids. This takes place principally through
techniques that allow a phase of sedimentation, where the solids deposit at the bottom of a
tank. Depending on the amount of sewage this phase can include a screen to separate larger solids from smaller solids. For small-
scale treatment, a septic tank is generally used, or faecal bags, sedimentation tanks or any other similar technology. Depending on
the system used, bacteria will generally start the decomposition and digestion phase of the solids.

2. SECONDARY TREATMENT Consists of the treatment of the water according to several parameters such as the Biological
Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Faecal Coliform bacteria, Total
Suspended Solids (TSS), while metals and other contaminating chemical components will also be looked at for non-organic water. In
some situations, Nitrogen and Phosphorus will also be considered, in particular or large concentrations of human activity or if the
treated water is disposed of in highly sensitive ecological areas prone to eutrophication (excessive nutrients which will cause
accelerated growth of some plants and causing oxygen depletion and eventual death for the remaining plants and aquatic life).

3: TERCIARY TREATMENT If you are in a highly sensitive ecological zone or if the water is to be reused for human
consumption or certain food production, water contamination will need to be furthered removed
so that the wastewater will undergo tertiary treatment with higher purification rates expected
than for secondary treatment.

DISPOSAL OF TREATED WATER Depending on the volume and nature of the water, either the treated water is being disposed of
in the soil through drainage trenches, reused (agriculture, landscaping, reintroduced in the
piping), or being discarded in a nearby receptor body (river, ocean, lakes), the most common practice. Depending on the ecosystem
recipient of discharge, secondary treatment may need to exceed « normal » standards.
INFORMATION SHEET
WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE, NATURE AND TREATMENT FRAMEWORK - PAGE 7
7. Example of treatment systems

Example of Primary Treatment:

SEPARATION BETWEEN SOLIDS AND WATER

Example of technologies options (conventional + non-conventional):

From the left to the right: screening, activated slude with settling tank, faecal bags, septic tank (2 chambers minimum, in
concrete or pre-fabricated), constructed wetlands (also including secondary treatment).

Example of Secondary Treatment:

TREATMENT OF SEWAGE EFFLUENT

Example of technologies options (conventional + non-conventional):

From the left to the right: Activated/Aerated sludge, Peat treatment, Constructed Wetland, Compact treatment / Septic Tank
(3 chambers minimum, in concrete or pre-fabricated, or with electricity for aeration and chlorine), Treatment with Vetiver
zizanoides.

Example of Tertiary Treatment:

EXTENSIVE TREATMENT OF SEWAGE EFFLUENT FOR SENSITIVE ZONES

Example of technologies options (conventional + non-conventional):

From the left to the right: Constructed Wetland, membrane systems with circular aeration/oxygenation, UV, lagoons.

Drinking quality water:

Example of technologies options

From the left to the right: Time and natural processes, Membrane / Reverse Osmosis processes, UV, oxygenation and/or
chlorine dependent systems.

INFORMATION SHEET
WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE, NATURE AND TREATMENT FRAMEWORK - PAGE 8
 8. How is wastewater purified?

Regardless of the technologies used, so called “conventional” versus “non-conventional”, to achieve

1
sewage treatment, each process relies on the same fundamental elements shown in the diagram below :
Microorganisms and Oxygen. The principal difference resides in how the oxygen is produced (naturally
through the roots of plants or through aerating blowers relying on electricity).
Water has always been a natural vehicle for transporting and processing organic waste. The water cycle
purifies water by moving it through soil, plants and the atmosphere where natural and complex processes
remove and utilize pollutants as nutrients. For thousands of years humans have either avoided mixing
water with their excreta and reused it productively or used water to dilute the waste they produce and carry
it away from the places where they live. These places where sewage was/is sent were often natural
wetlands when available or waterways with a rapid flow. This “waste” is then purified by natural processes,
away from human contact. This process however takes time and populated areas have been creating more
wastewater than natural cycles are capable of processing on their own and in the last 50 years; wastewater
discharged to these water bodies have also carried heavier loads of synthetic chemicals and other toxic
elements not found in domestic sewage.

Sewage
+ Microorganisms
+ Oxygen

2 ways to bring oxygen to the water to

allow biological brakedown by
microbes:
The use of plants
in sewage effluent treatment
Water and nutrients are processed by the
sun and in some cases are filtered
through or held in a media such as soil,
sand and/or gravel. These conditions are
highly favorable to various bacteria and
micro-organisms playing an active role in
the digestion of all organic matter. At the
same time, plant roots act as pumps
bringing down oxygen to the organisms
(creating a relationship of symbiosis).
Plant leaves act as evaporators of water
and oxygen so that excess water
evaporates off of the leaves into the NON-CONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONAL
atmosphere (a process called TECHNOLOGIES TECHNOLOGIES
evapotranspiration). ENERGY INTENSIVE
NATURAL SYSTEMS
. Light rays from the sun SYSTEMS

Oxygen (O2) > Land space < Land space

< >
given off to
Carbon the Energy Energy
dioxide atmosphere
(CO2) from n No chemicals n Chemicals
the Carbohydrates Eg: Rotating Biological
atmosphere s Eg: Constructed Wetlands,
Contactors (RBC),
Ponds, Sand Filters, Carbon
Activated sludge treatment,
filters, Rock filters, ...
Aerated lagoons,
Water (H20) in soil or other filtering media Membrane bioreactors,
Evapotranspiration principal processes Chlorination, Sodium
hypochlorite, ....
SUSTAINABLE NON-SUSTAINABLE

1 Drawing inspired but modified from Los sistemas naturales para la depuración de las aguas residuales urbanas: experiencias en Andalucía, Juan José Salas Rodríguez, Centro de la Nuevas

Tecnologías del Agua (CENTA), Agencia Andaluza del Agua (CMA), Ministerio de Medio Ambiente Planta Experimental de Carrión de los Cespedes (PECC), July 2007.

INFORMATION SHEET
WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE, NATURE AND TREATMENT FRAMEWORK - PAGE 9
 9. Example of Natural and Energy-Intensive sewage treatment plants (STP)

Non- "Conventional » STP "Conventional" STP

§ Treat wastewater as a resource. § Treat wastewater as waste to be disregarded.
§ Separates types of wastewater when § Tends to mix all kinds of wastewater into one
possible. centralised treatment plant.
§ Decentralised treatment when possible or § Centralised treatment.
semi-centralised. § Relies on electricity and complex
§ Relies on natural processes for treatment. technologies.
§ No use of chemical products + no additional § Relies often on synthetic products and
pollution emission in the treatment process. chemicals (emission of additional pollution in
§ Treatment is taylored according to nature of the treatment process).
wastewater and purification rates desired. § Discharge in waterways (with a quality often
§ Creator of added value below safety levels for release into the
environment).
§ No creation of added value

400 m3/day, 3-4000 residents + 1.2 Million tourists/year

(Designer: Hans Brix, Island Phi Phi Don, Thailand)

Constructed wetlands

Anaerobic Digestor Chlorination unit

Rotating Biological Contractor
Treatement with Vetiver (RBC)
Duckweed system Aeration
Faecal matter: Vermicomposting
Green Filter:
Fast growing
timber Denitrification
plantation
Membrane + UV system Sludge incinerator
Urine stored for 6 month + Application in agriculture

Common technologies

Screener to separate solids from liquids

Lagoons

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10. Excreta reuse

While you are rarely required to be responsible to treating the sludge generated in the treatment system,
below is a rapid overview of options for productive reuse of sewage solids:

Production of organic fertilizer Humans excreta holds high levels of nutrients,

on average sufficient amounts of nitrogen,
phosphorous and potassium as plant nutrients to grow the 250 kg of crops we need annually (Dangert,
1998). Urine alone, collected from one person in a year, is sufficient to fertilize 300–400 m2 of crop. Urine
being almost sterile doesn't require intensive treatment but storing time, which varies according to origin
and amount of urine (a family garden can be fertilized immediately with urine, for a garden of several
families, recommended storage time is 1 month – for large communities, 1 year). Applied ratio for fertilizing
are between 1 part Urine to 3 parts Water or 1 part Urine to 5 parts Water for agriculture and is applied in
furrows in the soil at the feet of the plants (it is the soil that needs to be nutritive, not the plant whose roots
get nutrients from the soil); the mixture should never be applied on leaves directly as it will burn them. The
area where the fertilizer is applied should then be covered by soil to avoid nitrogen loss through
evaporation. Faeces and sludge however must go through a thorough compost stage to ensure pathogen
removal where they will transform into highly nutritious humus after 3 to 12 month minimum, depending on
the composting method used and heat levels reached. At a larger scale, a vermicomposting farm
(composting with the assistance of earthworms) permits the production of vermicompost, highly valued in
agriculture; it can also be packaged and sold, becoming a wealth-creating tool. Recommended worms are
Eisenia foetida (Red worm, tiger worm), Eudrillus euginae (Night crawler Local worms), Perionyx excavates
and Perionyx sansbaricus (e-Arik Publication No.: 13). A recent governmental study in Florida (Orange
County’s Environmental Protection Division – OCEPD) has shown that Vermicomposting meets the highest
standard of safety for reuse or disposal in the environment (Class A biosolids) (Bruce R. Eastman, “Spiking
the Biosolids, Achieving pathogens stabilization using vermicomposting”, BioCycle Magazine, Nov. 1999,)
for example while India has been using manure vermicomposting successfully for decades.

Production of biogas / Energy

Depending on the country and project location,
small, medium and large units of biogas production are available for the treatment of sludge. One type of
UASB system for example (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor) enables the production of 10 Liters
per full time resident per day for an equivalent production of sewage of 150 Liters per person per day.
These 10 Liters will have an energy content of about 0.0625 Kwh. Electricity conversion efficiency is about
33 % which will therefore represent 0.020625 kWh electricity per day / PE. (WWG study for Fuavahmula
Island, the Maldives, 2009).
Example: 8000 people would produce about 120m3/day of biogas from their black water which would permit
to produce enough electricity for 1000 homes using about 250 Wh light at night (a few energy saver bulbs
for a few hours). In this case, the cost for a 25 kW CHP plus gas equipment would be around 120,000.00
US$, shipment cost to location of use and installation not included, 2009 prices.

Other systems enable 1 Kg of human faeces to produce an average 50 Liters biogas, 1 Kg of cow manure
to produce 40 liters and 1 Kg of chicken manure to produce 70 Liters biogas. (Source: Des solutions
adaptées pour l’assainisement. Exemple de technologies innovantes à faible coût pour la collecte, le
transport, le traitement et la réutilisation des produits de l’assainissement, Netherland Water Partnership
(NWC), PRACTICA, International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC), SIMAVI, Partner to Enterprising
People (ICCO), Partners for Water, World Forum on Water, Mexico, March 2006).

Non-organic or mixed organic/chemical solids

Options for the non-organic (e.g. industrial
waste) sludge treatment and recycling depend largely on the nature of the sludge and is a field currently
undergoing lots of research. If the wastewater is largely oil/metals/chemical-based, constructed wetlands
with specific plants or Vetiver-based remediation systems are highly recommended, as the plants will
integrate much of the “toxins” in their plant tissue which may then be used as source of biofuels for
example. If you have numerous plastics in the sludge, a recycling or conversion plant may be considered.
Technologies are numerous in this nascent field and a case-by-case study is necessary.

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11. Sewage treatment placement on a property

We are indicating these measurements taken from different resources just as indicative information; they are in
no way authoritative as legislation varies from country to country and sometimes within provinces. The nature
of your site (kind of soil, presence of high or low water table for example) will also greatly determine good
practice, so that you must check with local legal requirements.

From a property boundary to

the septic installation: 1.5 m minimum 15 m
. 6m from front boundary From a property border From a well, lake,
. 3m from rear boundary to the septic installation. pond, spring,
. 1.5m from side boundy. In some countries, this reservoir or river.

P r o p e r t y
B o u n d a r i e s

distance is In some countries, . WELL

5 - 10 m. this distance is . LAKE
35 m.
. POND
. SPRING
. RESERVOIR
. RIVER

B o u n d a r i e s
Septic
treatment
P r o p e r t y

installation
Drainage of
treated water

1.5 meters minimum 6 meters

between the water from the house to the
table and the septic percolation area
installation

WATER TABLE

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